Using your voice at Gallaudet University and elsewhere is OK

There were several instances of a protest supporter, student, faculty or alumnus who used his/her voice (without signing) in front of hearing, deaf, and  hard of hearing audience. Most of these people who used their voice instead of signing were either deaf or hard of hearing at places like Gallaudet University and the Senate Health Hearing in California on the AB2072 bill. In all cases there were sign language interpreters available and in some cases included voice interpreter and real time captioner.  This is about respecting communication preferences of deaf and hard of hearing people. A preference that they feel most comfortable in. Due to certain circumstances sometimes voice had to be used instead of signing.

Before I get started I want to remind people that Gallaudet University is a true, bi-lingual institute. I would like to think students attending Gallaudet University are not linguistically disabled in the English language, especially towards the end of their undergraduate career with a strengthened English competency and literacy.   I see both the English language (spoken or written) and sign language as equally supported on campus. Both ASL and the spoken English language deserve equal respect in the cases I'm about to present.

Secondly, I must remind people that president Hurtwitz of Gallaudet University re-iterated a key point that ICED issued a global call to "accept and respect all languages and all forms of communication" in the education of deaf and hard of hearing people. There were no restrictions or specificity against the use of Cued Speech, oral-auditory methods, SEE, PSE, AVT, note takers, CART, captioning, texting, voice to text, use of hearing aids and cochlear implants to help communicate and listen, and so on. Nor did ICED specify or condemn for using one form of communication method over another. Nothing was said about which form of communication MUST be used but rather that all forms of communication MUST be accepted and respected.

Did you get that?

Thirdly, as a side note, most students on campus do not sign in "pure ASL" but instead mouth the words while signing almost or completely in English word order like a PSE or signed English format. Some do sign and use their voice at the same time like former interim president Robert Davila of Gallaudet University as you can see (and hear) in the video below at time stamp from 1:13 to 2:01. Also note in the video on how deaf/hh people sign and mouths the words at the same time and oftentimes in English order. Pure ASL? Not really.



Moving on.

 

The first notable so called "scandal" that I'm aware of took place at Gallaudet University in 2006. Dr. Brenda Brueggemann, who is deaf, was the Commencement Speaker for Gallaudet University's graduating class of 2006.  She used her own voice instead of sign language.

 

 

 

She was at the time the interim Acting Chair of the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees. She was essentially pushed to take over Celia May Baldwin's position after she suddenly resigned claiming threats were made against her by some nutty pro-DPN2 protesters.  After the 2006 Gallaudet University graduation ceremony Dr. Brueggemann was wrongly attacked for using her voice.  The attackers simply did not see the bigger picture the reason why she had to use her voice in the first place as explained to me by Bruggemann in her email to me in 2010.

Meanwhile, I do also completely understand the reason and "right" for using ASL more and "better" --especially at places like Gallaudet. My ASL is only about half-good right now--not even as good as my German probably. But I can have conversations. I did so all the time as Board Chair with King and other Gu administrators directly on VRS (not using interpreters). I get by. And had I had any time to actually prepare my remarks for the GU graduation last May, I probably would have signed them more or at least part of them. But I didn't have that prep time. I was dropped into the Acting Chair's position on May 10, to be exact--once CM Baldwin resigned. And I was handed the remarks she was supposed to deliver (already scripted) for graduation on May 12. In fact, they didn't even give me the script until the morning of May 12. And it still had her name at the top of it! So, using oral/spoken English, I could feel comfortable enough to develop a few of my own "touches" in the prepared script. But I sure couldn't do that trying to use ASL....

If only the attackers knew about the little known history of why Dr. Brueggemann used her voice then they would not have screeched themselves into an apoplectic fit.   Instead, they get eggs on their faces just like Random Thoughts and Musings by moi blog who got everything wrong about Dr. Brueggemann's reason to use her voice that day.

Feeling silly right about now, don't you?

Let's keep an open mind here, folks.  Signers have a different level of fluency and visual reception/recognition. Not all deaf or hard of hearing people know sign language.

Dr. Brueggemann gave me a poignant but funny message in her email to me to share with everybody:

"Hey, I like my voice!" I'm proud of it. It's unique, it's mine, I like it. I think I'll use it! - Dr. Brenda Brueggemann. Sept 1, 2010.

Yeah, me, too.

The second "scandal" occurred around November of 2009 when a hearing doctoral candidate at Gallaudet University presented a dissertation defense in spoken English rather than ASL to a diverse audience of deaf, hard of hearing and hearing students as well as professors. Gallaudet University provided ASL interpreters. That "scandal" was short-lived, too.  Not much details other than it happened. Although I do admit this has nothing to do with a deaf or hard of hearing person but it was the idea that a doctoral candidate was allowed to use his own voice to speak in his dissertation defense at Gallaudet University.

Then we have an unknown person named "Bobby W" who claimed to have used his voice in 2006 to defend his student teaching experience for his degree at Gallaudet University:

If it makes you feel any better at the height of the campus scandal in 2006 while I was defending my student teaching experience for my degree from Gallaudet in front of the Education Department. I also choose to use my voice to do so. I used ASL for the answering/question session but the actual defense I used my voice. Imagine defending an education degree from Gallaudet University orally. I'm sure I was the FIRST to ever do so.

I received a few funny looks from my peers and a few of the EDU professors but It was a success...

-Bobby W.

Bobby W, where are you? Are you deaf, hh or hearing?

Next, of course, you have another Gallaudet University alumnus, which would me, who used his voice to speak at an audience at Gallaudet University's first ever vlogging/blogging conference in 2007.  I was one several panel members at that vlogging/blogging conference.  It was streamed in live in front of an internet audience and those physically present. Most people, I think, were quite receptive of my decision to use my voice based on the comments I received compared to Dr. Brueggemann's who probably got more people their panties in a bunch.  I don't think mine counted as a "scandal" by any stretch of the imagination.

And then we had this culturally deaf guy who was the Sacramento chapter president of CAD used his voice at the Senate Health Hearing in California in a room full of culturally deaf people which easily outnumbered the number of hearing people present. It's not a scandal if a deaf person choose to use his or her voice to speak or use sign language. The deaf and hard of hearing community support those who have a different but preferred mode of communicating.  You can find the original video of Tim Riker and others at the Senate Health Hearing in here.  




But the real eye-brow raiser was when Tim Riker criticized another oral deaf person, John Fortias, for having "unintelligible speech. " The sad thing is that the "unintelligible speech" claim is not true at all. John's speech is intelligible as evidenced in a transcript and by the interpreters in both videos (see above and below). It is quite evident that a sign language interpreter could understand John's speech as evidenced in the video below (video source).



The message?

If you're deaf or hard of hearing, whether you wear hearing aids, cochlear implants or none at all, it is alright to use your voice to speak in a public setting as long as other modes of communication are accessible to those who cannot hear, have trouble understanding the spoken word or unable to understand a different language such as ASL.  Let's hope students and faculty members at Gallaudet University will not shame students for using their voice as a choice.  After all, Gallaudet University is a bi-lingual institute.  Don't let people bully or chide for your preferred communication choices.

In Praise of the CODA Brothers

I’ve watched some of the CODA Brothers videos (Olsen twins they're not) on YouTube and noticed some of their sight gags while I listened to the video's voice over background while they signed cracking jokes and pretty much ad lib-ing over each other. Though a bit ironic watching a video that came with voice over ASL interpretation to a hopefully receptive hearing crowd to their favor. I wonder why? A disinformation campaign?

Now, using sight gags in order to take advantage of the current sentiments with the Deaf crowd is one way of trying to be funny just to be on their “side” which comes with the territory I suppose. But it is another thing knowing how such sight gags can affect others who don’t exactly see eye to eye such as using gags like an overly used and much abused hyperbole. For example, one sight gag in this video doing a cochlear implant impression by using what looks like sawed off portion of a small aluminum can seeing how it protrudes quite noticeably from the side of their heads and with great effects I should say. Nice visual gag by making fun of those who wear CI like this screen capture of the video gag below.



I know. I know. CODA brothers meaning no harm. Just “joking,” right? Kind of like when a bunch of hearing students at a regular high school making fun of those that wear a hearing aid by using a ketchup cup over their ear to imitate a hearing aid at a school’s cafeteria. Yeah, that happened to me one time when I was in high school. Did I think it was funny? No, but I had to tactfully inform my friends on what they did showed ignorance and disrespect. And I pretty much took care of that problem right away, and they apologized afterwards, too, realizing their mistake and ignorance. Doesn't hurt to quickly inform people of their mistakes. Right, CODA brothers?

Next sight gag on the CODA brothers video? Remember the hyperbole remark I mentioned earlier? Well, let’s take “oral” Dan in this video who went to great lengths to imitate a deaf oralist but with exaggerated lip movements, the thick “nerd” glasses, the deep “duh” voice while signing haltingly so reminisce of what a beginner signer may behave while wearing, no less, an AGBell t-shirt (though not everybody is a product of AGBell anyway, at least I wasn't).



It’s one thing when there are some deaf people who may have the tendency to talk in an exaggerated fashion although no fault of their own. Others do not even come remotely close to "oral" Dan. Even more bizarre is that these guys are hearing who do not have these “impediments” in the first place. Oh, I know. I know. It‘s just a “joke” and people shouldn’t take “offense” at this but I am sure the CODA brothers know better. And I’m just rolling with the punches here. I'm sure the CODA brothers will find this video here breath-takingly funny as well with comedians in the "Absent Minded Comedy" show signing and mimicking like an expert ASL interpreter.

Keep it up, CODA brothers. Hope you roll in tons of money off of this venture of yours. And you have a DVD, too! Congrats.

Here's a video message for the CODA brothers.

Deaf Children Can Learn to Talk

While growing up at around age 6 or 7 years old I received my second hearing aid after having worn my first one since age 2 1/2 years old. It wasn’t the behind the ear hearing aid but a body aid. I’ve gotten a lot of good mileage out of my old hearing aid. Obviously so because without that hearing aid of mine I wouldn’t be here where I am today. Successful. And it has helped me with my ongoing Ragtime and early Jazz piano playing, too, ever since I was seven years old when I began playing. I am proud about all of my past hearing aids to the present because I have used them with great benefit.

Below is a picture of my hearing aid inside a protective case. It’s a Zenith. Along with a Battery Membership card, and that special yellow button as you can see what it says.


(see a larger picture here)

It’s so well preserved though I am sure it can work if I put in the right kind of battery in. But is my old hearing aid considered as an “antique” one since it’s approximately 38 years old? And that got me wondering. Is there a hearing aid museum somewhere in the Untied States? I was pretty sure there ought to be a few of them around. And sure enough there is one.

Pretty fascinating on how hearing aids (even cochlear implants!) have helped so many people with hearing loss. Isn’t technology great? And soon enough well have biotechnology to finally help restore hearing loss someday.

WARNING: - If you go into an apoplectic fit after reading this, read it again just to be sure. Step back and breathe slowly before responding. And please leave your conspiracy theories at home about me and this blog piece. Thank you.

Cochlear Implant and Swimming..doing the impossible

Here's a cool video of how a deaf kid can wear a cochlear implant and swim in a swimming pool without it getting wet. This means diving into the water, jumping in, swimming, splashing and all that stuff. How? Take a gander at this video for this BTE cochlear implant. Thanks to the ingenuity of this kid's Dad, he can now swim and hear what people are saying. Even hear underwater. And, oh, btw, the deaf kid sounded like any other hearing kid to me. His voice sounded just great. I'll get around to it and use Overstsream to add the caption in later. But the video does provide a "screen transcript" of sort explaining the warnings and other useful information.

Enjoy.